Analysis of a potential investment in EPC/RFID technology

The aim of the present work consists in examining if, when and in what manner, an investment in the RFID (Radio frequency identification) technology in the supply chain management ambit results economically justified. The work starts from a reference point characterized by a supply chain articulated upon five levels and dominated by two actors: the producer – equipped with a productive plant with an annexed warehouse and with a network store – and the distributor who manages a distributive center (Ce.Di.) and the sale points. It is then described a structured model for the evaluation of a EPC (Electronic Product Code)/RFID on pallet application, based upon the analysis of all the supportable costs for the implementation of a solution based on this technology; that is from one side the investment’s costs and to the other side the current costs. The work ends with a synthesis of the obtained results with the purpose to measure the investment’s profitability.